Income Tax (Chennai) raised its game in the last two quarters to defeat a fighting Indian Railways (Delhi) 77-65 to set up a title clash against Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), which beat Indian Air Force (Delhi) 82-63, in the 52nd all India basketball tournament for men, for the Nachimuthu Gounder Cup, here on Tuesday.
Income Tax quickly settled down and raced to a 24-20 lead. Its players mostly scored from outside the arc to gain the early advantage in the first quarter.
The Railway men upped their game through Praveen Kumar (24 points) and Rakesh (18) in the second quarter.
But Income Tax matched it with some fantastic shooting through Rikin Pethani (15 pts) and Visu Palani (13 pts). The duo attacked from the flanks and made sure the team enjoyed a sizeable lead (41-30) going into the third quarter.
After talking things over at lemon break, Railways came out all guns blazing and managed to cut the lead to four points at 46-42. Praveen once again stood tall for the team.
It looked anybody’s game from there but, midway through, Income Tax unsettled the opposition with its defensive skills and scored from the inside time and again to stay afloat in the contest.
A similar situation prevailed in the final 10 minutes. But a limping Rikin, who stayed out for some time due to a calf muscle pull, walked in at a crucial juncture and scored a couple of baskets with ease to steer the team to safety.
With the big final ahead, it looked a dangerous move to play with an injury.
“Unless otherwise I cannot walk, I will continue to play for the team. I feel much better now after the win,” said a relaxed Rikin after the game.
In the other semifinal, the Air Force men, winner at both Periyakulam and Karur, were very much in contention till the third quarter before IOB smartly cut down its outside shooting skills in which they are pretty strong and played with a great deal of energy in the fourth to seal the match in its favour.
In the 16th CRI Pumps Trophy for women, Federation Cup champion Chhattisgarh State did not have its regular star-studded line-up but rallied well to defeat Eastern Railway (Kolkata) 69-60 for a place in the final. It will take on South Central Railway, which thrashed KSEB 52-28, for the honours.
The results (semifinals):
Men: Income Tax (Chennai) 77 (Rikin Pethani 15, Visu Palani 13, P. Akil 10) bt Indian Railways (Delhi) 65 (Praveen Kumar 24, Rakesh 18).
IOB (Chennai) 82 (P. Jeevanantham 28, G. Sivabalan 17, Vineeth Ravi Mathew 14) bt Indian Air Force (Delhi) 63 (Nikhil 15, Narendar Grawal 18, Ashutosh Rai 12).
Women: Chhattisgarh 69 (Gulabsha Ali 24, Riya Verma 12) bt Eastern Railway (Kolkata) 60 (M.J. Libina 11, Sitamani Tudu 13, Madhu Kumari 12).
South Central Railway (Secunderabad) 52 (Aswathi Thampi 17, M. Gayathri 11, L. Suganya 10) bt KSEB 28 (G. Rojamol 10) .
